A Silver Lining

A rigid economy of the public contributions and absolute interdiction of all useless expenses will go far towards keeping the government honest and unoppressive. -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Lafayette, 1823

A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. -- James Madison, letter to W.T. Barry, August 4, 1822

It's hard for us average folks to follow the workings of the US Senate. Even the founding fathers struggled with keeping their new government on task and in focus. A full reading of the Senate's proceedings is such a daunting task, that it's output is unknown to much of America. Thus, as Madison warns, government is clearly now a Prologue to Farce, if not already past the prologue phase.

Occasionally, however, a resource like the National Taxpayer's Union is able to Capture and condense the sum and total of accomplishments for all to see. And the information at NTU.org is quite revealing:

We analyzed every roll call vote taken during 2007 (1st Session of the 110th Congress) and selected all votes that could significantly affect the amounts of federal taxes, spending, debt, or regulatory impact. -- NTU 2007 ratings

Selected results:

Senate Average: 37% (C-)

Hillary Clinton 3% (F)
Barry Obama 5% (F)
Joe Biden 4% (F)

The Silver Lining is this: With these 3 leaving the senate, the average score is almost guaranteed to go up.